Chains?

Peter Verdesi said:

I'm building a bike up (first time) and had a quick question about the chain. Specifically the number of links in the chain. The bike I'm putting together has full Dura Ace 10 speed with a 53/39 front and 12/27 rear. Most of the chains that I see for sale on various sites have 116 links. Is that going to be long enough for the set up I'm doing or will I have to add a couple of links? What kind of gearing range can you use with one chain (in another words if I have the bike set up with a 12/27 cassette would I be able to put an 11/23 on it)? Thanks.

Unless your chainstays are overly long,you will probably have to remove links to get the correct length. Size the chain small/small so that the chain doesn't drag on the RD cage,and you will be good for any cogs speced for that derailer. But it's never a bad idea to make sure the big/big works on the stand without ginking anything.

boudreaux said:

Unless your chainstays are overly long,you will probably have to remove links to get the correct length. Size the chain small/small so that the chain doesn't drag on the RD cage,and you will be good for any cogs speced for that derailer. But it's never a bad idea to make sure the big/big works on the stand without ginking anything.

Thanks Boudreaux. As always very helpful. Just one more question. Is it safe to assume the the 116 links available in most of the chains that you can buy are the maximum number of links for common gearing applications in road bikes? What if you were going for TT gearing with a 56 big ring (116 links still good enough)?

Peter Verdesi said:

Thanks Boudreaux. As always very helpful. Just one more question. Is it safe to assume the the 116 links available in most of the chains that you can buy are the maximum number of links for common gearing applications in road bikes? What if you were going for TT gearing with a 56 big ring (116 links still good enough)?

I duno about the 56,but it would only need another 3 links. .Sram chains now seem to be being sold with only 114 links.I got 3 chain remnants from recent installs and they have 8 and 10 links left extra.

Uhm.... you can look on the parktool site for the official way to size a chain. Or, I use the SHeldon Brown method. Read about it over at www.sheldonbrown.com It's fast, easy, and foolproof.